NBS: China's Jan-Oct rebar output declines 9.5% on year

Production of rebars across China declined by 9.5% on year to 198.3 million tonnes over January-October, according to the new data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

For October alone, the country's rebar output reversed from two months of rises, down 2.3% or 482,000 tonnes on month to 20.9 million tonnes, though the volume still increased 7.6% on year, Mysteel Global learned from the NBS data.

Behind the on-month dip was the fact that some Chinese steel mills had slowed down operations or started maintenance stoppages on their rebar rolling lines during October to reduce losses, market sources reported.

For example, the average loss on rebar sales among 91 Chinese blast-furnace steel producers under Mysteel's survey came in at Yuan 82/tonne ($11.5/t) last month, as against the profit of Yuan 21/t they earned in September.

The weakened steel prices were largely blamed for mills' profit losses. As of October 31, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar under Mysteel's assessment slumped by Yuan 287/t on month to Yuan 3,883/t including the 13% VAT, hitting a new low since November 2 2020.

Over January-October, China's investments in the domestic property market and infrastructure sector showed a disparity, with the former down by 8.8% on year, while the latter up 8.7% on year, as reported.

In addition, the spot trading of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among 237 Chinese steel trading houses Mysteel follows averaged 156,917 tonnes/day in October, 12.8% or 23,097 t/d lower on month.

The sales volume indicated the lower-than-expected demand from end-users as October is usually a peak season for steel consumption, with the average tonnage around the threshold of 200,000 t/d.

In the first 10 months, the rebar production accounted for 17.8% of China's total finished steel output, or contributing to 18.2% of the total for October, Mysteel Global learned from the NBS release.

Written by Rong Zhang, zhangronga@mysteel.com
Edited by Zhenqi Yang, yangzhenqi@mysteel.com

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.